What to do when someone dies at home in Singapore

When someone dies at home, it can be hard to know who to call first. This page walks through the steps in order. Take them one at a time. Nothing here needs to be done in a rush, apart from getting a doctor or the police involved.

Step 1: Get the death certified

If the person has collapsed, is unresponsive or might still be alive, call 995 for an ambulance straight away. Don’t wait to be sure they have died.

Once it is clear the person has died, what you do first depends on whether the death was expected.

If the death was expected

An expected death is one that follows a known illness, where the person’s doctor or palliative care team had said death was likely, for example someone receiving home palliative care. Age alone does not make a death expected.

In this case, contact a doctor who can come to the home to certify the death. This could be:

• The doctor who was treating the person, or their home palliative care team.
• Your family doctor.
• A neighbourhood doctor or a home-visit doctor service that does house calls.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed that all doctors registered with the Singapore Medical Council, including those providing home care, can certify the cause of death, as long as they can determine the cause and there is no need to refer the case to the coroner.

If a loved one is seriously ill at home, it can help to plan ahead. MOH suggests asking their doctor for a medical memo and identifying in advance a doctor who can certify the death. This can spare the family a difficult search later.

If the death was unexpected or unnatural

If the death was sudden or unexpected, if it may have been caused by an accident, injury or anything unnatural, or if no doctor is able to certify it, call the police on 999.

The police will attend, and the body will be taken by police hearse to the Mortuary @ HSA.

At the mortuary, a police investigator will arrange for the family to identify the body, and the coroner will decide whether an autopsy is needed. If the death appears unnatural, the police will investigate and the family may need to attend a coroner’s inquiry. The police investigator will guide you on what happens next and when the body can be released to your funeral director.

Step 2: Get the digital death certificate

In Singapore, a death is registered automatically once a doctor certifies it online. There is no separate registration step for the family, and there is no fee for death registration or the digital death certificate.

The doctor will need the deceased’s identity document, so have their NRIC or other ID ready. After certification, you will be given the details needed to download the certificate, including the death document number.

Key points from ICA:

• The next of kin downloads the digital death certificate from the My Legacy portal.
• It can be downloaded by the deceased’s spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt or uncle, or niece or nephew, or their authorised representative.
• You must download it within 30 days and save it on your own device. After that, it is no longer available to download, and you would need to apply to ICA for an extract, which carries a fee.

Download the certificate as soon as you reasonably can, and keep a copy somewhere safe. You will need it for the funeral and for many later tasks, such as dealing with banks, insurers and the estate.

Step 3: Call a funeral director

Once the death has been certified, you can contact a funeral director. They will:

• Collect the body from your home, or from the mortuary if the police were involved.
• Arrange embalming if the family wants it. Embalming is carried out at funeral parlours licensed by NEA.
• Help you decide where the wake will be held, such as at home, at a void deck, or at a funeral parlour. A wake at an HDB void deck needs a permit from the Town Council, and most funeral directors can help with this.

If you have not chosen a funeral director yet, our guide on how to choose a funeral director lists the questions to ask. You can also find a funeral director in our directory.

It is fine to call more than one director and ask for an itemised quote before you agree.

Step 4: Get the Permit to Cremate or Bury

Before a cremation or burial can take place, you need a Permit to Cremate or a Permit to Bury. NEA requires it for government facilities and for private crematoria.

You apply using the digital death certificate, through NEA’s online portal. Most families authorise their funeral director to apply on their behalf, which is usually the simplest option. Your funeral director can also help arrange the cremation or burial itself.

A short checklist

• Expected death: call the treating doctor, palliative team, family doctor or a home-visit doctor to certify.
• Collapsed, unresponsive or might still be alive: call 995 for an ambulance first.
• Unexpected or unnatural death: call the police on 999.
• Have the deceased’s ID ready for the doctor or police.
• Download the digital death certificate from My Legacy within 30 days.
• Contact a funeral director to collect the body and plan the wake.
• Apply for the Permit to Cremate or Bury, or let your funeral director do it.

For a wider overview of the days that follow, see our first steps guide.

Looking after yourselves

These first hours are hard. If you can, share the tasks among family members: one person speaks to the doctor or police, another calls funeral directors, another lets relatives know. Ask for help, and take breaks when you need them.